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By PHILIP MARCELONEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former congressman George Santos has asked a New York judge to delay his sentencing on federal fraud charges until the summer so he can pay off more than half a million dollars in fines by making more episodes of his recently launched podcast “Pants on Fire.”But prosecutors, in their response Tuesday, dismissed the New York Republican’s promises of a financial boon as “extremely speculative” and derided the program’s title as a “tone-deaf and unrepentant reference to the crimes he committed.”They also cast doubt on his claim of having little more than $1,000 in…

If you are a Rams fan of a certain age, it wouldn’t be surprising if the prospect of an NFC wild-card matchup with the Minnesota Vikings has you shuddering.Or at least shivering.Yes, it’s been five decades or so, but if you’ve survived long enough on this earth you probably remember those four postseason meetings between Los Angeles and Minnesota from 1969 through 1977. Three of them were played outdoors in the winter chill of Bloomington, Minn., and the fourth happened to be the day the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum became a mud bog.All were won by the Vikings. And while…

While post-election autopsies vary on why Democrats fared so poorly in November, there is general consensus that a major factor was voter resentment of high inflation in their costs of living.Traditionally, voters who feel angst about their personal finances will take it out on the party in power. It helped Donald Trump win support among working-class voters who feel the financial pinch most severely — a syndrome felt even in deep-blue California, where 10 counties whose voters had backed President Joe Biden in 2020 switched to Trump in 2024.When the Democrat-dominated California Legislature reconvened this week, its members chanted a…

ApartmentList’s December rent highlights for 100 US metros. “How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market. The pain: Despite some hopes that 2024 might be a tenant’s market, barely half of California markets surveyed by one study had falling rents. The source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed December rent stats from ApartmentList to see what happened in 15 larger California cities last year. The pinch: Just eight of 15 California cities had rent drops in 2024, declines on par with the 49 dips among 100 big rental markets tracked in the report. Nationally, rents fell 0.6% last year, by…

A wind-driven brush fire grew minimally overnight in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, now standing at an estimated 3,000 acres charred after destroying dozens of structures Tuesday, Jan. 7, authorities said. The Palisades fire is “burning both east and west,” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said in a Wednesday morning update. “We’re going to have more winds today and tomorrow. Likely the biggest growth that we are seeing is to the west and our biggest priority is life and structure defense.” The fire broke out about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Pedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives…

The counting of the electoral votes in a presidential election has generally been an uneventful affair. That is as it should be, considering all voting, counting and certifying is done by the states. The count in Congress is essentially a formality. On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes from the November presidential election. There were 312 electoral votes for Donald Trump, 226 for Harris. It was unlike what happened four years ago, when Joe Biden earned 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. Trump couldn’t handle losing and fanned the…

DALLAS — The Lakers got the closest look at what their full rotation could be on Tuesday night – at least until other injured players return.Backup guard Gabe Vincent was available and made his return to the court in the Lakers’ 118-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.Vincent missed the previous four games because of a strained left oblique, an injury he suffered in the Dec. 28 victory over the Sacramento Kings, playing just seven minutes in that game before making an early exit.“Have missed his toughness first of all,” Coach JJ Redick said before the game.…

LOS ANGELES — Wins and losses seem simple.The UCLA men’s basketball team shot 43% from 3-point range across the month of December and went 5-1. Through two games in January, the Bruins have shot 12.5% and lost both.In Coach Mick Cronin’s eyes, however, those simple differences don’t scratch the surface of telling the whole story.“We’re soft,” he said, flatly. “I’m searching, deeply, for some guys that’ll play hard enough to win a Big Ten game.”See, it’s not a coincidence that these defeats, or “humble pies” as Cronin referred to them, were served up to the Bruins in their first two…

A fast moving wind-driven wildfire burned more than 100 acres late Tuesday night in Sylmar, forcing emergency evacuations in some neighborhoods.The Hurst fire was reported shortly before 10:30 p.m. near Diamond Road, according to CalFire.Within 15 minutes the blaze exploded to more than 100 acres, jumped the freeway and began to spread in the Angeles National Forest along the footprint of the Saddle Ridge Fire that burned 8,799 acres in October 2019, Watch Duty, which tracks firefighting efforts in realtime, said on its website.The Los Angeles Emergency Management Department ordered people in the area north of the I-210 Freeway from…

BEAUMONT — Yucaipa girls basketball coach Jeremy Hoch and Beaumont coach Pete Carr both agree that the Citrus Belt League title will come down to one of those two high schools.Yucaipa won the first meeting and remained unbeaten in league play following Tuesday night’s 48-42 victory over Beaumont.Yucaipa’s overall record is 8-10, which is not as good as Beaumont’s 8-5 record.  However, the schedule actually worked in Yucaipa’s favor.“We schedule pretty tough competition,” Hoch said.By contrast, Beaumont had not played during the two weeks during the school vacation. Making matters worse was that a contest against Needles last Friday was cancelled.“Some…